It seems easier to feed certain types of animals like; birds, fish and reptiles what they would naturally eat.Cats and dogs are different, especially cats as they are true carnivores. Dogs can handle much more fruit and vegetables than cats.Dogs can live somewhat healthy on a vegetarian diet. That diet would kill a cat.When Diane and I got Cheyenne, we bought a certain brand of premium kitten food. One of those supposedly trust high end name brands. Then I did some reading on the feeding of cats. Cats should really not have grains in their food. Well the food that I was feeling Cheyenne had corn listed as one of the top 5 ingredients! Corn? That's one of the worst things for cats!When we got Angelo from the shelter, they said his interim guardian was feeding him Brand XXXXXXXXXX that was supposedly good for a certain system in his body. Well the first ingredient listed on Brand XXXXXXXXXX for this certain system in body was corn. Okay, maybe this food is good this certain part of his body... but what about the rest of him?! Read the food ingredients on the pet food package carefully. One of the scariest things is, "Animal digest". Thankfully it's not found in too many foods.Animal digest is made from 4D animals: dead, dying, diseased or disabled. That includes fresh road kill, animals that can barely make it to slaughter on their own and other people's pets that were put down by a vet, leaving the remains with the vet. Those foods containing other people's pets that were put down by a vet, also have traces of the chemical used to put down those pets!Really good dog or cat food do not necessarily have to be expensive, but I'd rather pay the extra cost for the food than a vet bill that could have been avoided.

Years ago, one of our dogs developed a persistent case of the runs. This lasted for months. We had been feeding her a high-end, premium dog food. We took her to the regular vet a number of times and he would give her medicine. Just on a whim, we brought her to a different vet and the first question he asked was, "What are you feeding her?". When we told him, he said that the particular company had purchased multiple tons of grain tainted with a fungus. They were still using it to make dog food. We switched her diet and her problem went away within a half day. Lesson learned was: if there's a persistent problem, try something different (in this case, different vet and different food).

Oxymoron: corporate conscience (The dog food company knowingly bought/used the tainted grain because it was cheaper.)

beatbyrd wrote:Oxymoron: corporate conscience (The dog food company knowingly bought/used the tainted grain because it was cheaper.)

Tom

But of course, it ain't illegal, and it's just pets, so who cares?

Yeah, you really need to read those ingredient lists. Just because it costs a lot and is known as being a "high end" feed doesn't mean it's actually any good...

Exactly right. One of the foods we feed our cats is a top quality food without the high price tag. Just have to do your homework.My niece had to put down her 5 year old pug last year, due to uncontrollable diabetes. Good chance it was the dog food. I don't think corn or other hi carb foods are good for dogs either. Should just be low carb fruits like blueberries and cranberries and vegetables for vitamins, fiber and antioxidants for cats and dogs.

Here's one from the "don't try this at home" department..... My brother was a volunteer fireman in our town. He had a great Golden Retriever, named "JP", that he took (off leash) just about everywhere, including fire company events, picnics, softball games, etc. The dog was a charmer and a con artist as far as food goes and would come home loaded up with pizza, hot dogs, and beer (just like my brother). The dog lived to a ripe old age. And speaking of "ripe", he could pass some really nasty ones after these events. I'm speaking about both the dog and my brother.....

This same dog ate half of a blue NERF football when he was a puppy and passed little blue bits of foam rubber for a couple of days. So, at least some dogs are quite resilient...... Tom

"Dogs love yogurt, and it's good for them, too. If your dog has had to take an antibiotic, giving him plain, unflavored yogurt will repopulate his digestive system with healthy bacterial flora. (Make sure the yogurt contains an active culture.) Adding a small amount of yogurt to the food of a dog with gas can also cut down on his distress."

However, and I'm not defending bad food, how many cats have you seen that were fed nothing but Brand Junk their whole lives and lived until well past 15? I can name more than a few.

It's not just the food. It's the care. An outdoor cat will typically not live as long as a purely indoor cat. The care is better, that's all.

At any rate, I spend a small fortune on feeding the cats. They get both wet and dry food. With multiple cats I've had to settle for the lower end wet food simply because that's the only one they all like. I have four Sphynx, one Cornish Rex, one Siamese and one Calico. Variety of tastes in wet but they all love Brand Z for dry.

As you do, I only look at the first five ingredients too. I also take 2 brands that give me this quality and mix them together in case one of the brands has an issue later, I can wean them into another brand with less hassle.

At any rate, I understand all too well what you're saying about feed.

We tried the all fresh meat diet but that didn't go too well.

At least you aren't doing the live feed thing. That's just plain dumb but you can't tell those folks anything. They're like vegans with their superiority complexes.

At least one cat was a victim of the melamine additive scandal.Another may have been weakened but survived that.Smoky insisted on being given canned food several times daily;Chester was happy to nibble on the dry food.He'd sometimes lap up the leftovers of her meal.He lived 20 some years.Smoky was 14,both died the same year.

Then there was the wander-by cat who visited rarely,was friendly and socialized,and would hang about for a while,then wander off.I gave some of Gnester's leftover dry food, and he started to visit more often, then daily,and then he was hanging out most of the time.It got to where I was feeding him daily,and buying him food.He likes most any dry food.I tried him on meat scrabs, bits of burger,tuna, chichen and turkey scraps.He cared little for anything but the dry stuff.Go figure.

"'************* has had their pet foods tested positive for the chemical used to put animals to sleep. There are reports that these animals actually ARE used by cheap pet food makers, sold to them by the vets who put the pets to sleep. So in effect, that would make the eaters of this food potential cannibals. Tasty, right?? Do you need any more reason to avoid this?"

or this in a food:

"animal digest", which is a soup of blood, skin and organs made from dead (including road kill), diseased, disabled or dying animals.